Beholding, becoming
Changed by what you gaze on
Paul reveals the central mechanism by which Christ's character is formed in us, and it is surprisingly passive: beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another. We are changed, he says, by beholding — by gazing upon the glory of Christ until we begin to resemble what we behold. Transformation happens through contemplation.
This is a profound and freeing truth. We become like what we behold; the soul takes on the character of whatever it gazes upon and admires. Fix your gaze on Christ — his beauty, his glory, his character, seen in Scripture and in prayer — and you are quietly, gradually, changed into his likeness, without even striving for it. The transformation is the natural effect of the beholding, the way a face turned toward the sun is warmed and lit.
This explains why so much of formation comes down to where we direct our attention and our admiration. We are being formed all the time by what we behold; the question is only what we are gazing at. The psalmist captures the effect: those who look to him are radiant. A soul fixed on Christ becomes radiant with his likeness. So the deepest secret of being changed into Christ's character is not striving harder but gazing longer — turning your attention again and again to the glory of the Lord, and being transformed by the beholding.
“We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory.”
— Paul, to the Corinthians — 2 Corinthians 3:18 (WEB)
Be transformed by beholding — gazing long and often at the glory of Christ, and being changed into his likeness through the contemplation itself.
“They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.”
Our instinct says change is wrung out by effort, so we bear down and try harder and wonder why so little shifts. The interior work is to grasp the gentler law Paul names — that we become like what we gaze upon — and to redirect attention rather than redouble strain, fixing our look on the glory of Christ in Scripture and prayer until his likeness settles on us almost unawares. A face does not labor to be lit; it simply turns toward the sun.
This week, give time to beholding Christ rather than only working on yourself: gaze on his glory and character in Scripture and prayer, lingering and admiring, and trust the transformation to come through the contemplation as a face is lit by turning to the sun.
The pull of a hundred lesser sights — our own failures, the world's noise, the endless scroll — keeps the gaze low, and we drift into the image of whatever holds our eyes. But a soul that beholds the glory of Christ is changed by the looking itself, growing radiant with a likeness no striving could earn and no distraction can wholly prevent.
We assume transformation must come through striving — trying harder, disciplining more, forcing change by willpower. Paul reveals a different and largely passive mechanism: we are transformed by beholding the glory of the Lord, changed into his image as we gaze upon him. We become like what we behold and admire, the way a face turned to the sun is warmed and lit without effort.
This is freeing and clarifying. It means the deepest secret of becoming like Christ is not striving harder but gazing longer — fixing our attention and admiration on him, in Scripture and prayer, until we quietly take on his likeness. And it means we are being formed all the time by whatever we behold; the only question is what we are gazing at. A soul fixed on the glory of Christ becomes radiant with it. So consider where your gaze habitually rests, for you are slowly becoming what you behold.
- Do I assume transformation comes only through striving?
- Where does my gaze habitually rest — and what am I becoming?
- How could I gaze longer at the glory of Christ this week?
Lord, I strive to change myself when transformation comes by beholding you. I become like what I gaze upon. Fix my attention on your glory in Scripture and prayer, and change me into your image from glory to glory, radiant with your likeness. Amen.